The Collectors: Ini Archibong
The American-born Nigerian polymath has been fascinated by watches since his early 20s
Ini Archibong voraciously collects stylish objects—Nike sneakers, Hermès scarves, Murano figurines—but the American-born Nigerian polymath has been fascinated by watches since his early 20s, when he was gifted a chronograph by his father. “It wasn’t anything fancy or expensive, but I wore that watch for years,” he says. That formative experience, coupled with an obsessive hunt for a rare Panerai, sparked a deeper interest in horology that has culminated in Archibong designing a covetable watch for Hermès and a table mirror for Vacheron Constantin.
First find: “I knew this particular one was perfect for me,” he recalls of a Panerai PAM 112—a minimalist piece he acquired in Singapore shortly after studying industrial design. “I wore that watch in every situation.” Since then, Archibong has steadily grown his collection under the guiding philosophy of finding the purest expression of an archetype. For dress watches, he chose an F. P. Journe Chronomètre Bleu—“an understated and essential neoclassical dress piece with hidden magic”—which remains his favorite.
Collecting philosophy: “I’m doing my best to stay out of boutiques,” Archibong says with a laugh. The itch never fully disappears, though. He’s drawn to experimental pieces like MB&F’s ingenious LM101 and Urwerk’s sci-fi marvels. “At a certain point, you realize the next watch you buy is just for novelty,” he says. His eight-year-old daughter has also caught the bug, collecting models of Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch: “She’s obsessed. She has a wish list.”
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2025 Late Fall Issue under the headline “The Collectors.” Subscribe to the magazine.